Van Gogh Expo, Paperbacks, Playing Like Yourself, and More
Friday, January 26, 2023
Happy Friday everyone!
Here are 10 things I found interesting from the last week or so.
Van Gogh Expo
To start this week’s newsletter, I’d like to share my experience yesterday of going to the Van Gogh Expo:
Upon entering the exhibition on the 8th floor of the Giga Mall in Thủ Đức City, the first thing I learned was that he didn't decide to become an artist until he was 27 after a bit of convincing from his younger brother Theo.
Who would have thought one of the most famous painters in history was a bit lost for most of his twenties?
Sure, now, he has an entire floor dedicated to his life's work furnished with his paintings and quotes, along with a souvenir shop, cafe, and restaurant, but hundreds of years ago, Van Gogh was just as lost as any of us find ourselves at times, just as unsure of himself, his abilities, and how he would somehow fit into the weird world around him.
When people usually think of Van Gogh, a handful of things might pop up: he's that painter guy who cut his ear off at one point because he supposedly had Borderline Personality Disorder, he loved nature — sunflowers, orchards, that kind of thing — and then one day, after prolific career with artwork that can fill rooms from the floor to the ceiling literally, at the age 37, he shot himself in the chest and died two days later with Theo at his bedside.
Reading through the panels of text lining the walls, I learned a lot about him.
He had experienced things akin to being an artist and also some things that were unique to him. He worked a slew of unfulfilling jobs before committing to art. His parents didn't approve of his artistic aspirations. He started drawing in the Netherlands before moving to France, where he started drinking from a firehose of inspiration that many have experienced living in somewhere like Paris. He had to move back in with his parents at one point. He spent a year in a mental hospital, which ironically was one of the most productive periods of his life, where he completed over 150 paintings.
Yet, despite his successes as an artist, his mental health were anything but stable, and eventually, as I mentioned earlier, everything just became too much to bear, and he took his life in 1890.
Thankfully, Theo's wife Jo helped share Van Gogh's work with the world, and the Van Gogh Museum opened nearly a century after his death.
Van Gogh was also a writer. His quotes are painted on blue and orange walls that lead outside to the "Van Gogh's Field" area, where you'll find his different paintings of wheat fields. Snaking back through the entrance, I headed outside to the other part of the exhibition. Passing rows of empty easels, I make my way to where the sunflowers reside. Hundreds and hundreds of them are resting underneath the terrace; the bright yellow petals illuminate the outdoor area where I see a wax statue of the painter seated with one foot on the ground and the other not. That didn't seem like a mistake to me. It's a small detail — his left foot a few inches off the ground and his right planted — but it felt symbolic.
Every detail symbolizes something if you look at it long enough.
Van Gogh wasn't grounded, at least not fully. He was unhinged. He didn't see sunflowers, he saw life itself blossoming through. He didn't just see a night sky. He saw the cosmos in motion. He didn't just see a river. He saw each and every ripple of the Seine flowing through Paris.
He saw the world through a frame that few do, and probably for a good reason. Reality is a lot to handle, and to experience it at the highest definition, as he did, would drive anyone to lose their mind. Thankfully, Van Gogh was able to pour his heart and soul into his work using his frame to fill frames, subsequently losing his mind in the process.
It was a hot day yesterday, so I figured I'd treat myself to an iced coffee and two scoops of gelato cause why the hell not? I then selected a seat from the empty tables and pulled out my notebook to jot down some notes, like tiny little strokes of a paintbrush trying to encapsulate the Van Gogh experience as best I could.
With my coffee, gelato, and notebook in front of me, I was perfectly situated, overlooking Ho Chi Minh City to my left and looking over Van Gogh's waxed shoulder to my right.
For the record, both waxed ears of his were intact.
It was quite peaceful to attend an art museum on my day off and it's even better that besides a few other couples roaming about, I was alone to notice the cleaners mopping the floors and the gardeners tending to the flowers. I sat there wondering how Van Gogh would feel seeing staff take care of the flowers that meant so much to him. Perhaps it could produce a smile out of him.
I also wondered what Van Gogh would think of me visiting his spot, and I concluded he wouldn't be. He'd be too busy painting or writing poetry. And thus, I thought further, like Van Gogh, we must tend to our own canvas. We must pour ourselves out and into our craft. When our day of destiny comes, perhaps we must leave empty. Hallowed out, yet paradoxically filled to the brim. Perhaps Van Gogh killed himself, not because of his financial issues or mental health problems, but because he was finally empty. I mean that in a positive way. In the sense that, he poured his soul out onto the canvas to the last drop. Perhaps the artist had arrived, so to speak. He had emptied his soul into his work and felt ready to move on to the great beyond.
I mean, he was a troubled guy, but just look at the attention he gave to each painting. Every dot within a sunflower, every ripple in the river, every stalk of wheat swaying in the field, every root of the tree, all of it was him finding a home in the external world. He left everything on the field, as our coaches tried to instill in us when he played youth sports. As such, Van Gogh transcended time. His art — his message to the world — carries on from the fields in the Netherlands all the way to the walls of a shopping mall in southern Vietnam.
As the caffeine and sugar entered my bloodstream, I felt the needed burst of energy to enter the final room of the Van Gogh Experience: a light room filled with dozens of bean bag chairs and who knows how many projectors facing every direction, filling the walls of his life story while Vincent (Starry, Starry Night) by Don McLean played over the room's loudspeakers.
Despite feeling like "such a nobody," Van Gogh never stopped dreaming his painting or painting his dream.
He did the small things that led to great things.
He found his Enough through nature and art.
He trained himself to experience moments of peace even in the never-ending storm within his mind.
Even with all of his troubles underneath the surface, he summoned the courage again and again to create, to paint, to write — to feel alive.
He knew the beginning of anything sucks, but if you stick with it, things will turn out alright.
He merely wished we could see what he saw.
And finally, he understood what the Buddha taught, that life is suffering, but even more so, Van Gogh taught us that to suffer without complaint is the only lesson we must learn in life.
Suffer without complaint, find your peace in the storm, and have the courage to create.
As he famously wrote, "What would life be like if we had no courage to attempt anything?"
Put another way: what would your life be like if you did?
Embid Drops 70 on Wemby and the Spurs
This past week in the NBA, the league's stars went off, but nobody did it quite like the reigning MVP, Joel Embid. He dropped 70 points on the San Antonio Spurs, going 24 for 41 from the field, 21 for 23 from the free throw line, and 1 for 2 from the three-point line. If there was ever a welcome-to-the-league moment for the rookie Victor Wembanyama, there it was.
Paperbacks Closing Down at OHQUAO
Paperbacks in Saigon is where I buy all of my books in Ho Chi Minh City.
Unfortunately, they will be closing down their two bookshelves at OHQUAO's locations in Districts 3 and 2. If you're looking for a good book to buy, there will be a 10% discount for all orders until January 28.
Fortunately, Paperbacks will continue selling at their other locations: Kashew Cheese, Cafe Slow, and Bluish Cafe (all wonderful places to go, drink coffee, chill, read, write, etc.)
Note: OHQUAO is an amazing place. I got to interview the founders, Hoa Pham and Simon Phan, a while ago about their journey. Check out the article here.
Notion Calendar
I love Notion. I've cataloged my days, journaled, kept notes, and used it for all sorts of things pretty much every single day for over the last two years. It's awesome and easy to use. What's even better is now the app developed a Notion Calendar. If you're looking for a new calendar system or note-taking app, give Notion a try.
Note: I probably utilize 5% of what Notion is actually capable of, so if anyone is a Notion Wizard who can teach me how to better use the app, hit me up.
Go Chase Your Dreams
One of my best friends and college roommate from Boulder, Luke, makes music and is an incredible singer. He posted another tune a few days ago. Go check it out here!
Favikon Top List(s)
Favikon recently released a handful of Top 200 lists for influencers, creators, personalities, etc. It's quite interesting to see which people we give the most attention to online. I'd be intrigued to see if Favikon takes things a step further to interview the people on those lists and see who their favorite people to follow are.
It's always fun to see who your favorite player's favorite player is or who your favorite artist's favorite artist is to understand their craft at a deeper level better.
Check out their lists on Twitter and Linkedin!
Running Progress
I can't explain it, but now and then I like to run through the city when it's nice and hot. I don't know why but I sort of like the heat. When you first go out for the run, sure it's hot, but then you get moving, you get a sweat going, you feel the wind, you get into a rhythm, and before you know it, you forget it's 95 degrees out and that there's no other runners on the road except you, and you just hit a PR you're proud of.
Guy Billout
I came across this French illustrator named Guy Billout this week. Really enjoy their work. Here’s Billout’s portfolio for your viewing.
Carve and Create
A quote I found from James Baldwin I liked:
“The place in which I’ll fit will not exist until I create it.”
Carve out what time you have and create space for yourself. It matters. Do not rob the world with your unfinished art. The world starves for more art every day. Feed it what you can while you can.
Playing Like Yourself
Last week, I shared the idea of playing long games and I want to add to that. To end this week’s newsletter, I’d like to share a quote by Miles Davis worth remembering:
“Sometimes you have to play a long time to be able to play like yourself.”
Thank you for reading. Enjoy the weekend and see you next Friday!
—Garrett
P.S. “and More”
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These HCMC streets are no joke for running. Keep going strong!
Outstanding article!